THE DRIVE: Tillerson in Moscow; explosion in Germany; CEO apologizes

Tuesday

Apr 11, 2017 at 4:00 PMApr 11, 2017 at 4:02 PM

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talks Syria with Russia; a Borussia Dortmund player hurt as three explosions near the team bus cause damage; United's Munoz releases a statement; and more headlines for your drive home Tuesday, April 11, 2017.

Staff Report

MOSCOW — The Trump administration veered toward deeper conflict with Russia Tuesday as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Moscow, gambling that an unpredictable new president armed with the willingness to threaten military action gives the U.S. much-needed leverage to end Syria's carnage

Yet there were no guarantees Tillerson's arguments would prove any more successful than the Obama administration's failed effort to peel Russia away from its Syrian ally. Tillerson's mission, coming days after 59 Tomahawk missiles struck a Syrian air base, also carries serious risks: If Russia brushes off the warnings, President Donald Trump could be forced into another show of force in Syria or see his credibility wane.

"I hope that what the Russian government concludes is that they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partner in Bashar al-Assad," Tillerson said before flying to the Russian capital, referring to Syria's embattled leader.

"The reign of the Assad family is coming to an end," he confidently predicted.

GERMAN POLICE: ONE PLAYER INJURED IN EXPLOSION

DORTMUND, Germany — Local police say a player for German soccer team Borussia Dortmund was injured following explosions near the team bus ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal match against Monaco.

North Rhine-Westphalia police spokesman Gunnar Wortmann told The Associated Press Tuesday that there were "three explosions near the team bus as they left the hotel to go to the stadium" and that "there was one player injured inside and damage to a window."

UNITED CEO RELEASES ANOTHER STATEMENT ON DRAGGED PASSENGER

On Tuesday, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz issued a statement describing the removal of a passenger from a plane Sunday as "truly horrific" and offering his "deepest apologies."

"No one should ever be mistreated this way," he said. Munoz pledged to review the company's policies for seeking volunteers to give up their seats, for handling oversold situations and for partnering with airport authorities and local law enforcement.

The company planned to share results of the review by April 30.

POLICE: SAN BERNARDINO SCHOOL SHOOTER PREVIOUSLY THREATENED HIS WIFE

The man who fatally shot his estranged wife and a student in her San Bernardino elementary school classroom before killing himself had threatened her when she moved out of their house, authorities said Tuesday.

Karen Smith told those closest to her that she didn't necessarily take the threats from her husband seriously but thought Cedric Anderson was reaching out for attention, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.

"It appears that he had been making efforts to contact her and to have her come back home and she was resistant to that," Burguan said. "And I don't know if that just reached a boiling point, or what that was. Nor do we know exactly why he chose to do this at the school."